Pipe cleaner



e. E. STEVENS. PIPE CLEANER.

APLlCATION FILED MAY 1- 1920.

1,402,107, Patented Jan. 3', 1922,

George E. STevns b gWM Z Hfiys.

UNITED STATES GEORGE E. STEVENS, OF LACONIA, NEW

HAMPSHIRE, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO FRED 3. ROBERTS, OE LACONIA, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

PIPE CLEANER.

Application filed May 1,

To all whom. itmay concern."

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. STEVENS, a citizen of the United States, residing. at Laconia, county of Belknap, Stateof New Hampshire, have invented an Improvement in Pipe Cleaners, of which the followlng description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, 'is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates to pipe cleaners and has for its principal object to provide a pipe cleaner having a novel holder which operates not only to receive and hold the cleaner when it is not in use, but also which operates as a hand-hold by which the pipe cleaner may be manipulated while it is being used to clean a pipe.

In order to give an understanding of my invention, I have illustrated in the drawings a selected embodiment thereof which will now be described, after which the novel features will be pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the manner in which my pipe cleaner is used for cleaning a pipe;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the pipe cleaner coiled up and confined within the holder or casing;

Fig. 3 is a sectional View through the holder or casing with the pipe cleaner therein.

My improved pipe cleaner which is indicated generally at 1 is preferably formed from a length of wire which is wound into a small coil having the turns in contact with each other. A pipe cleaner of this nature is flexible and can be readily inserted into the bore of the pipe stem and the surface thereof is sufiiciently rough so that it will effectively clean the pipe stem. Moreover, it is flexible enough so that when the end thereof is forced completely through the pipe stem into the bowl of the pipe 5, the end will bend or flex as it strikes the wall of the bowl.

To be effective a pipe cleaner of this type must have a length somewhat longer than the length of the pipe stem. It is also desirable to have a pipe cleaner of this sort so constructed that it can be readily folded or rolled into a sufficiently compact space to permit it to be carried in the pocket. Further, in using a pipe cleaner of this sort Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 3, 1922.

1920. Serial No. 378,117.

' it is an advantage to have at one end thereof a finger-piece or hand-hold of suflicient size so that a person can readily grasp it because the diameter of the pipe cleaner itself is quite small and it is not easy to hold it.

I have, therefore, by my invention provlded a combined casing and hand-hold for the pi'pecleaner which operates as a closure or casing into which the pipe cleaner can be rolled up when it is to be carried in the pocket and which also constitutes a fingerpiece or hand-hold by which the pipe cleaner may be manipulated while it is used for cleaning the pipe. This combined holder or casing and hand-hold is in the form of a box 2 which is provided with a cover 3. The box 2 is preferably cylindrical in shape and one end of the pipe cleaner is rigidly secured to the bottom of the box 2, as shown at 4.. I will preferably secure the end of the p1pe cleaner to the box at the corner of the bottom but the particular location in the box where it is secured is not essential. The pipe cleaner may be fastened to the box in any suitable way without departing from the invention. One way would be to solder or sweat the end of the pipe cleaner thereto, or it might be fastened thereto by rivets or in any other suitable way. It will, however, preferably be so secured to the box that when it is released from the box it will extend therefrom at about the angle shown in Fig. 1 which is approximately When the pipe cleaner is not in use it can, be coiled up and laid within the box, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and when the cover 3 is applied the pipe cleaner will be entirely enclosed within its casing and may be carried in the pocket without danger of its soiling any article with which it comes in contact.

The box 2 may be made small enough so that it can be readily carried in the vest pocket or any other small pocket without inconvenience.

When the pipe cleaner is to be used the cover 3 is removed from the box and the pipe cleaner is then withdrawn from the box, and it will then extend outwardly from the box, as shown in Fig. 1. The box 2 may then be used as a thumb-piece or handhold for holding the pipe cleaner while it is used for cleaning the pipe. The box makes a very convenient hand-hold for this purpose because it is large enough so that it can be readily grasped between the thiimb and finger of the hand, and by means of it the pipe cleaner can be manipulated much more easily than if it Was necessary to grasp the relatively small pipe cleaner.

Fig. 1 shows how the device is ordinarily used, the pipe 5 being held in one hand and the combined holder and case 2 of the pipe cleaner being held in the other hand.

It will be seen that with my invention the casing 2 notonly operates as an envelope or casing to receive the pipe-cleaning element when it is not in use, but it also constitutes a. convenient hand-hold by which said element can be manipulated.

I claim: a

The combinationwith a casing comprising a cylindrical body having a closed bottom bottom thereof, but can be coiled up within the body,whereby when the pipe-cleaning element is extended from the body, said elements can be manipulated. for cleaning a pipe bv grasping the circular sides of the body between the thumb and finger.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

GEORGE nsTEvENs. 

